Chapter 2: Emergency
Riley awoke one morning to the blaring of her phone; grumbling she fumbled around in the dark until she found it. She flipped open the phone and pressed it to her ear, falling back against her pillow.
"You have a death wish for calling me at this hour," She yawned and looked at her bedside clock: 2:30am. She had another two hours before she had to be awake for work.
The caller said something that made her sit bolt up right in bed, and her heart leapt into her throat.
"What?" She questioned, getting out of bed and fumbling around for her jeans. She found them and quickly stripped out of her pj pants; she successfully pulled on her jeans and looked around for a shirt and bra.
"When did it happen?" She asked, tripping on a pile of laundry. Riley face planted onto another pile of laundry which quietened her fall. Growling under her breath about Sam's habits, she found a bra and a t-shirt. Quickly putting the phone down, she changed and picked it back up as she listened to the caller's voice.
"Who?" She paused and looked to where Sam was sleeping, praying to God she wouldn't wake up; she was a nasty morning person.
Riley fumbled around a little bit more until she found her bag and stuffed a spare change of clothes into it along with other essentials. She bustled around until her bag was packed; then grabbed her laptop bag and her camera. Before she left the room quietly, she grabbed her phone charger and went quietly into the living room. Putting down her bag, she grabbed her Stetson and stuck it on her head, and pulled on her well worn chaps and her floor length slicker. She pulled a pair of socks from one of the pockets of her bag and pulled them on while putting on her boots.
"What!?" Riley whispered loudly into the phone, stifling a yawn she finished putting on her boots and darted for the kitchen.
"No way," she continued to whisper, grabbing a few muesli bars and rollups. She also grabbed some chilli beef jerky and stuffed it into one of her many pockets. Looking to the floor of the pantry, she grabbed a few energy drinks and put it in her big bag.
"Are you sure though?" Riley said into the phone, pausing again as she did a mental check for everything she had. Nodding, she ducked to the bathroom to grab her toiletries and brush her teeth.
"Riley?" Riley spun on her heel in fright; Sue was standing in the doorway with her pyjamas on.
"Emergency at the ranch," Riley said as she quickly put the phone down to brush her teeth.
"Whose on the phone?" She asked, yawning.
"Josh, since Adrian has lost all sense of control and is having a mental break down." Riley replied, spitting into the sink and rinsing her mouth out.
"I'm getting picked up in about 5 minutes." She said and picked up her phone, listening to Josh's voice once again.
"Actually, right now." Riley said and snapped her phone shut. She quickly walked to the living room and picked up her stuff.
"Be careful, don't do anything stupid or you're not working for two weeks." Sue warned and gave Riley a hug.
"What about school? By the way things sound, I won't be back in town for a while." Riley said worriedly, starting to panic herself.
"I'll email your teachers and get them to email you anything important regarding your classes, now go before Josh can't drive because he is too hysterical." Riley kissed Sue on the cheek before running out the front door.
Sam awoke a few hours later to find Riley's bed empty, she heard something earlier this morning but she swore it was just her imagination. She got out of bed and got dressed into a pair of skinny leg jeans and Riley's skate shoes, thinking she wouldn't find out.
Throughout the past year or so, Riley and Sam kept their distances and were just friends. Although they lived together and went to the same school, they had rare moments when they were closer. Those moments were normally when Riley came and told a group bullies to leave Sam alone or when Sam had met Riley's colt Viper. Otherwise, nothing really happened. They were acquaintances, they knew a little about each other. Sam knew Riley was protective of the life she had built with Sue, that's why she kept mostly to herself.
She pulled on a sweater and walked to the bathroom to brush her teeth and comb her hair that was probably the shape of a bird's nest. She bustled around in the bathroom for a bit and decided it was time for breakfast; so she went into the kitchen only to find Sue talking on the phone. Sam poured herself a bowl of cereal and sat at the table, looking through a horse magazine that was open. She started reading an article relating to the ranch Riley practically lived at, it was showing a young eventer on the cover called Brock. He was one of the most famous horses in the horse world; he was up there along with Phar Lap and Mr Ed. He was young and a fantastic cross country jumper; Riley talked about him all the time. The owner, Alex Ryan, was a well known breeder throughout the town and bred excellent foals. Riley had one of those foals, his name was Viper. Sam had found out the hard way why he was called Viper, she was running her hand down one of his legs when he bit her bum completely out of the blue and started bucking randomly. Laughing more to her, Riley got him back under control with a simple hand on his neck. That reminded her of Jake back home.
Sighing, she finished her bowl of cereal and put it in the sink while she looked at the clock. Ten minutes before she had to leave for school, by now Sue had gotten off the phone and was making a cup of coffee for herself.
"Where's Riley? It's a school day." Sam voiced her thoughts, grabbing a glass of juice.
"Emergency at the ranch," Sue looked into the distance, completely out of it.
"What kind of emergency?" Sam asked, sitting in front of her dazed aunt.
"Fire and horse smugglers," Sue looked down at the coffee, still lost in thought.
"Oh my gosh," Sam gasped, putting her hands on her aunt's.
"Is anyone injured?" Sam whispered, looking for any emotion on her aunt's face.
"One person died," She whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek.
"Oh my," Sam gasped again, standing quickly and wrapping a comforting arm around her aunt's shoulders.
"Who?" Sam whispered, kissing Sue's head comfortingly.
"Elena," She whispered, collapsing into sobs.
Elena was Alex's daughter and Adrian's older sister, she must've run out to either save the horses or stop the smugglers.
"I don't think I'm going to go to school with the way you are," Sam tried, still holding her aunt tightly.
"You're not getting out of your maths exam," She said, smiling through her tears.
"Now get going before you miss the bus," She stood and nudged Sam in the direction of the front door.
"Fine, call if you need me though." Sam said while giving her aunt a tight hug, she returned it and Sam ran out the door.
Sue locked up behind her and grabbed her coffee, reading the morning paper on the couch to distract herself.
"Hey buddy," Riley said as she opened up the car door after stuffing her gear into the back of the truck.
"Hey squirt," Josh replied, revving the car before pulling out onto the street.
"What are we doing when we get there?" Riley asked after about half an hour passed, Josh was quiet and deep in thought.
"Well, we're going to make sure all the horses are ok. You are going to be my personal assistant since everyone else is going to be panicking still. Then we're going to track those horse smugglers..." his voice grew faint as they pulled into the long drive way, the flames were visible from the road. Photographers were at the gate, trying to get past the police who were barricading the large metal structure.
"Do you have your pass?" Josh asked as he picked up his wallet quickly and pulled out a plastic card that his photo and farm identification on it. Riley searched through her bag for her wallet, she snarled when she couldn't find it.
"I'm assuming you don't, they have the hand held scanner so just tell them your id number and it should come up in the system." Josh said as an officer looked into the window with a torch.
"What do you want?" His voice was rough; he'd been there most of the night.
"We're trainers and stable hands of Alex Ryan, here is my id and Riley doesn't have hers but she can give you her id number to type in and check." He grumbled something under his breath but took the card from Josh's hand and scanned it, it came up green.
"The boy's good to go, what is your id number kid?" The man with the dark moustache shined his torch on her, she turned her eyes away from the light.
"0928743," she said and yawned, it was still to early to be awake. The green light beeped, it was the correct id number.
"Right, you're good to go but what is your purpose in being here?" He asked as he directed the torch away from her eyes.
"The horses are going to need to be taken care of, Alex and Adrian are going to be distraught and not many people can be trusted with his prize horses." Josh paused, thinking.
"And there isn't going to be many people allowed on the property after work hours anyway," Riley finished, her eyes briefly glancing at Josh.
"Then go and take care of the horses, a whole bunch of them rode up into the hills. I'm not sure which ones though, the cattle horses or the eventers." He finished and nodded to the man in the patrol booth, the gates opened and allowed the two teenagers through.
They sped up to the barn and pulled up a safe distance away, Riley crammed her hat on her head even harder and made sure she had everything in the pockets of her slicker.
"Where would your spare id be?" Josh asked as he pulled his slicker on and crammed food into it, he pulled on a back pack as well.
"In the main house," Riley replied as she grabbed her pack out of the truck's tray.
"I'll put together a pack quickly for you," Josh said.
"Go and get it, tell them what we're going to do minus the looking for the smugglers."
Nodding, Riley ran for the house and tried to keep her eyes off the burning barn.
She heard the terrified neighs of the horses, Riley felt sick to the stomach as she barged into the house.
"Alex? Adrian?" She called as she walked through the house, looking for the study.
"Riley?" A croaky voice came from above her on the second flood, Riley looked up and gasped. Adrian's eyes were extremely red and his face was covered in tears.
Forgetting everything, she ran up the stairs and ran to his arms and held him tightly.
"Riley," He whimpered, burying his face in her hair.
"I need my spare id, Adrian, Josh and I are going to grab one of the spare saddles and bridles from the house and go round up the horses that escaped and make sure everyone else is ok."
Adrian sighed as he relaxed in her embrace, she knew what it was like to loose someone.
"How do you deal with the pain?" He asked, sobbing.
"Time and patience," Riley whispered back, Josh came into the house calling Riley's name.
"Where are you?" He called, walking through the house just as Riley did.
"Up here," She called back, Josh came up the stairs and saw Adrian.
"Man, I'm so sorry…" He rubbed Adrian's shoulder comfortingly.
"Thanks Josh," He whispered, looking at the boy through red eyes.
"We'll take care of the ranch; you and Alex take care of yourselves." Josh looked at Riley who kissed his cheek and dashed to the upstairs private study; she grabbed her spare id card and put it around her neck.
"Where's the spare tack?" She called, stopping when she saw Josh giving Adrian a man hug. Alex was no where in sight.
She felt a pang in her heart, Elena was such a nice woman.
"Downstairs at the right of the work study," Adrian called, no emotion in his voice.
Nodding, Riley ducked back down the stairs and towards the room next to the study. She walked past the study when something caught her eye. Alex was seated at his desk, a knife lay to the right of him and a photo of his daughter in his hands.
Without saying a word, Riley walked into the room and picked up the knife and placed it back in its leather scabbard. She stuck it in her jacket pocket and wrapped her arms around the older man, simply being there.
"Is she really gone?" He whispered, his face emotionless.
Riley breathed in deeply to keep a grip on her own emotions before replying.
"They are never really gone; they live not only within us but with those around us. Although everything reminds us of them, it's for the better instead of the worst." Riley replied, squeezing her arms tightly around the big man's shoulders.
"These past two years Riley, I didn't think I'd care for anyone else other than my two kids. But you, you've wedged yourself into my heart and I don't think I'd be able to live with loosing you too…" his voice cracked, tears slipping down his cheek.
"Be with Adrian, he needs you just as much you need him." Riley whispered, helping him stand. Like a child obeying a mother's orders, Alex left to go and find his son.
Josh appeared in the doorway, Riley's eyes and mind were elsewhere until he appeared in her direct line of vision.
"Lets get the tack and go see who we can ride." The 14 year old girl nodded and followed the older boy, they grabbed their tack from the store room and headed out the back door towards the paddocks where they locked the horses up.
"Do you think Alex would mind if we used Gunner and Fletch?" Riley asked, following Josh in the dark. The moon wasn't out but there was the light of the fire, the barn was still up in smoke. The other ranch hands were dealing with those horses that were there. There weren't many horses in the barn that night, it was a warm night so they put nearly all the horses out in the paddock.
"I think he'd kill us, personally." Josh's voice didn't have any humor in it like it normally did, she sighed. Was she going to be the one to cheer everyone up? To keep this place alive? A burden suddenly appeared on her shoulders. She saw a pile of saddle bags and another pack leaning against the fence.
She didn't think anything of it.
"Well, I think Brock could've been in the group that were stolen." She reasoned, hefting the saddle in her arms again. Why had it suddenly felt heavy in her arms? Oh that's right, its too early in the morning.
"Who do you want to ride?" Josh asked, stopping at the gate of the back paddock. Some of the horses were hidden in the far corner, away from the blazing barn.
"Gunner," she replied merrily, only a handful of people knew that Gunner was one of the fittest horses on the ranch. He was a stallion and was nearly 18.2hh, Josh rolled his eyes. Of course she'd want to ride the biggest and fastest horse, at least he would test her riding skills.
"I'll take Gunner if he gets too much, you know how he tests his riders." Josh said, grabbing one of the lead ropes from the gate before jumping it.
"You know how much he hates you, right?" Riley laughed, despite the current circumstances. Everyone knew how much Gunner personally had it out for Josh even though every morning and evening he was fed by him.
"Don't we all?"
Riley grabbed the spare lead rope off the gate and followed Josh in the dark, it was silent as they trekked across the paddock towards the horses. They were lost in their own thoughts, the shock and pain just starting to settle in.
"I'm assuming you have a pack for me as well," Riley whispered, the horses were playing a game of tips with the humans.
"Yeah, its completely packed along with a whole bunch of food. I have the camping gear and such so if I loose you, I'm screwed in the food department." Josh whispered back, he stopped and opened his arms in a hugging gesture.
Riley sighed as she went to his arms, she relaxed in his embrace. She needed a hug at that point in time.
"We'll be everyone's support," He paused.
"We'll bring justice to this," He stopped again, Fletch was staring at him in the darkness.
"This horse also hates me, can you catch him please?" Josh grumbled, shoving his lead rope at Riley.
"Must I do everything?" She whined, walking straight up to the horse and clipping his lead rope on, she talked to the horse and rubbed his neck before leading him over to Josh.
"Show off," He muttered and took the horse from Riley, he wanted to watch her catch Gunner. He could be a complete pain the ass when it came to catching.
Riley walked forwards into the darkness, the only way Josh could see her was the silver band on her hat.
He heard Gunner snort and whinny somewhere in the darkness but he was close.
"You know, we have a job to do." Riley said in the darkness, Josh stood quietly and rubbed his horse's neck. In response to her voice, Gunner neighed softly. In his mind, Josh saw Gunner tossing his head.
"Come on boy," She whispered, Josh barely heard it but after it he heard the snap of the clip.
"Impossible," Josh said aloud, there were few people who could catch this horse without a fight. Riley just happened to be one of them.
"Not impossible, just got to stand him down. You see, people chase him while Alex and the others wait for him to come to them. If you talk to him at the same time, then he's more relaxed about being around you. It's an interesting theory." Riley laughed at the look on his face as she walked by him.
"Come on slacker, we have things to do." She said smugly, jogging forward with Gunner following her.
"Women," Josh muttered and followed her.
They saddled their horses and attached their saddle bags, Riley gasped as she saw Josh pull a rifle out of the darkness. He strapped it to the side of Fletch's saddle and he attached a knife to his belt.
"We don't know what we're going up against Riley, we have to be prepared." Was all he said before putting his pack back on and passed Riley her's. She pulled it on and did up the clips, Gunner was prancing on the spot while Fletch was standing still. You could tell who the gelding and who the stallion was.
With a leg up, Riley got into the saddle that seemed to fit her just right. Josh attached a stock whip to the saddle along with two ropes. He did the same thing to Fletch's saddle before mounting. Gunner was still prancing, tossing his head.
"Settle Riley, he'll be a pain in the ass if you don't." Josh said from beside Riley, Josh nudged his horse forward to take the lead.
"If you don't settle you'll be a pain in my ass, Josh. Gunner is just as excited as I am." She replied smugly, she knew Josh was rolling his eyes and she chuckled.
"Fine, I'll calm down." She mused, smiling gently as they made their way off the property towards the cross country tracks.
While riding and keeping an eye out for the horse smugglers and the horses that were let out, Riley got lost in her own thoughts. She reflected on her past relationship with Sam, she liked the girl but after the way she seemed to walk into her home… well it felt as if she was taking over her territory.
Riley shook her head to clear those thoughts, she was spending too much time around her male friends.
She thought about why Sam had actually been sent to live with Sue, she knew it was medically related. Riley knew Sam wasn't pregnant, she assumed it was something mental. Maybe she had tried to commit suicide? Shrugging to herself in the darkness, Riley started to pay more attention to her surroundings.
"Have you ever had a boyfriend?" Josh asked, Riley's head turned so fast she swore she'd have whiplash later.
"Nope, I don't trust anyone except my own kin." Riley made sure her face was passive, Sam had a boyfriend at this current point in time but was sworn to secrecy by her because Sue wouldn't approve of him.
"But, you don't have any blood relations." Josh's voice was slightly distant.
"Exactly,"
There was silence.
"So much for a creative discussion," Josh grouched and sunk back into his thoughts.
